With plenty of exciting highs and devastating lows, the women’s WolfPack volleyball team experienced a bit of a roller coaster ride this year.
Following a pair of wins over Calgary’s Cougars last month, the WVB team suddenly advanced to the playoffs.
Chad Grimm, head coach of the WolfPack WVB team, mentioned how exciting it was to make the playoffs.
“We had to win our last four matches to have a chance, and we got a little help [in] the last game, [which] knocked Winnipeg out of the playoffs and put us in,” Grimm told the Omega.
The experience of making the playoffs was a big deal for both the coach and the players. “It was a tough season,” Grimm said. “It was nice to get to that nice phase. It’s a young team and they never made it to the playoffs before.”
The Regina Cougars faced the Winnipeg Westman, which resulted in Winnipeg taking a loss, therefore cutting them from the playoffs and allowing the TRU WVB to advance.
Ema Palkovičová, one of the WolfPack’s senior players, grew up with her father playing volleyball in Slovakia and eventually wants to play professionally one day. An injury prevented Palkovičová from finishing in the 2022-2023 season. Making the playoffs for her this season was a dream come true and was incredibly emotional for her.
“It was unbelievable,” Palkovičová said. “After we watched Regina beat Westman, we were all like, ‘Wait… what’s happening?’ Then we started to feel that we could actually make it [the playoffs]. I thought I played my last home game. Everyone was hugging me.”
However, their celebration was cut short. After two straight losses to the UBC Thunderbirds, the ‘Pack found themselves eliminated from the tournament. Coping with the loss was hard.
“Not every day is a good day, and as an athlete, you have to understand that not everything is destined for you, and some days are just bad,” Palkovičova said. “That doesn’t mean you’re a failure or it can’t work out next time.”
Palkovičová stated it was incredibly important to support each other, and the loss was a learning process.
“It was weird,” Palkovičová said when asked how she felt in her final season.
“This season’s game was very emotional because I made it through the whole season and all the memories came back. I just tried my best and had a great time.”